Sunday, October 05, 2008

Love, Death and Vegas

I was in Las Vegas last week for a seminar at the Mirage. I hammered the casino for around $300. I'm surprised I wasn't banned but I guess they were feeling merciful. Anyway, I told myself before I went that, if I won enough money for a ticket to the Circ du Soleil show at the Mirage, "Love", I would go so I did win enough and I went.

This show is based on the music of The Beatles and has more dancing that true circus acts. It is truly spectacular, though. The opening actually made me cry a bit because it brought back so many memories of the time when The Beatles first came to the US. So much has happened in my life since then, most of it good but, by all means, not all of it. If you are a Beatles fan and get to Vegas, you should see this show. Take some cash, though, because the good seats are $150.

Flying back into Denver, we hit some very bad weather. I was listening to Air Traffic Control, which you can do on United, and they were constantly warning pilots of wind shear on the two runways that were in use. I have encountered turbulence before but nothing like this. Our pilot had to abort two approaches because of last minute wind shear. I was almost certain that the plane was going in the ground on the second one. The pilot decided to go to Colorado Springs instead but ATC talked him out it, saying that the front had moved off to the east. As we made our third approach, it was still very rough and I quit praying for a safe landing and just asked God to take care of my family. We did land safely, though. It took about twenty minutes for my hands to quit shaking from the adrenaline rush. After I calmed down, I got mad. The FAA should have suspended airport operations until that weather moved off. It didn't take very long for the front to move out and the brief suspension would have saved a lot of frayed nerves, as I am sure that we were not the only plane having problems.

I will be flying again next week to Indianapolis. I hope I don't have a similar experience or I may have to look into a seat on the Grayhound on my next trip.

12 comments:

Sushiboy said...

Yikes, glad your ok. If things were that dangerous I don't know why they didn't suspend things for a little while. I'd rather land late than hit the ground right on time.

The Beatles, ah, I listened to them all through high school. (I was the weird kid that didn't like grunge and rap) A friend introduced me to the Sgt. Pepper album, who wouldn't like that?

Used to be everything in Vegas was ultra cheap. What happened to that? I guess they want to keep everything that happens in Vegas, in Vegas. (including the winnings)

SkylersDad said...

Glad you made it back in one piece, I wonder why they didn't suspend ops or at least divert to other places.

Just Dave said...

Yeah, Sushiboy, the dyas of cheapie deals in Vegas are over. Even the hotels are ridiculous. Mesquite, NV is the new cheap Vegas even though the weather is hotter, if that's possible.

I really don't know, SD. Our pilot was ready to divert and in fact, was out of the cockpit and into the bathroom as soon as the plane landed, a fact which made me shake a bit more. It wasn't his fault at all; in fact, he did some great flying to keep us in the air.

Anonymous said...

The Philly airport shuts down when storms roll into the area. Too dangerous but it's a huge pain in the ass. I'd rather arrive safely than fear for my life, like that.

Glad you're safe.

Cheer34 said...

I saw the Love show when we were in Vegas in Sept. .......LOVEd it! the weather was bad for us too when we flew out....but ok when we flew home.......hope your next flight isn't as bad

Just Dave said...

Thanks, Teri. I love flying out of Philly because it seems that I always get upgraded, for some reason.

Cheer, I have seen a lot of shows over the years but none compare to "Love". I hope to see it again someday with my wife.

Jodi said...

I'm glad you landed safely! Are you coming to see me again?

J.

Just Dave said...

I would love to see you again but this trip to full to overflowing with meetings. In the words of Arnie - I'll be back.

Special K said...

That's why so many pilots are getting disgruntled, i think.
I'm so sorry!
I hope it's a very smooth flight for you to Indiana, sweetie!

Just Dave said...

The flight was OK, thanks, but it was hard to tell because I was in the back of the plane and it's always rougher back there. No one was screaming out prayers though. Off to Chicago at 6:08am Monday-yawn.

morgetron said...

So glad you are okay dear friend.

Just Dave said...

Thanks, my sexy robot. I must continue to fly unfortunately. I'm home all next week though before going back to Vegas for another convention. Wish me luck.